3 So watch yourselves. “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.
Pointing out someone else’s sin is difficult, but it is part of the Jesus-follower’s life. We are a family. Just like in a family, the more mature individuals help the younger ones learn acceptable behavior. We in the United States are so independent that we have lost this vital part of the Jesus-following life. We have adopted the “live and let live” philosophy of popular culture. But we have a responsibility to each other. I need a second set of eyes in my life, seeing my weaknesses and pointing them out to me. Just the other day, I put on my uniform and had my name tag on the wrong side. I was in such a hurry that morning that my mind was not functioning on all cylinders. My wife was not feeling well either. I spent an hour in front of people with that nametag on the wrong side. Thankfully, right after I was done speaking, one person came and told me about it. I was embarrassed, but thankful. And this was just a very small thing. We need to help each other, just like this. There are areas of sin and weakness in our lives that we need the accountability with other people to help us overcome. We need to give up our pride and recognize that we are weak and sinful just like everyone else. Don’t let your pride get in the way. Allow the accountability of others in your life. This is especially true when they have sinned against you. Often we just “suck it up” and try to ignore offenses. If you haven’t noticed, this rarely works. We have the tendency to hold onto these types of things and bring them up again. Forgiveness involves not bringing it up again as a weapon to be used against them. We may not forget what they did, but we refuse to allow our mind and our mouth to load the weapon of our tongue. The next verse tells us the extent of this forgiveness. Most of us can forgive one offense, but multiple offenses in one day stretches even the best of us. But if we have the proper view of ourselves, that we don’t deserve God’s favor, then it is easier to forgive. But when we get an inflated view of our own importance, then we get ourselves in trouble.
The Arnold Journey 